Before we address today’s passage, we have to start with Isaiah 53.
Isaiah 53
Who would ever believe it?
Who would possibly accept what we’ve been told?
Who has witnessed the awesome power and plan of the Eternal in action?Out of emptiness he came, like a tender shoot from rock-hard ground.
He didn’t look like anything or anyone of consequence—
he had no physical beauty to attract our attention.So he was despised and forsaken by men,
this man of suffering, grief’s patient friend.
As if he was a person to avoid, we looked the other way;
he was despised, forsaken, and we took no notice of him.Yet it was our suffering he carried,
our pain and distress, our sick-to-the-soul-ness.
We just figured that God had rejected him,
that God was the reason he hurt so badly.But he was hurt because of us; he suffered so.
Our wrongdoing wounded and crushed him.
He endured the breaking that made us whole.
The injuries he suffered became our healing.We all have wandered off, like shepherdless sheep,
scattered by our aimless striving and endless pursuits;
The Eternal One laid on him, this silent sufferer,
the sins of us all.And in the face of such oppression and suffering—silence.
Not a word of protest, not a finger raised to stop it.
Like a sheep to a shearing, like a lamb to be slaughtered,
he went—oh so quietly, oh so willingly.Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away.
From this generation, who was there to complain?
Who was there to cry “Foul”?He was, after all, cut off from the land of the living,
Smacked and struck, not on his account, because of how my people (my people!)
disregarded the lines between right and wrong.
They snuffed out his life.And when he was dead, he was buried with the disgraced
in borrowed space (among the rich), even though he did no wrong by word or deed. Yet the Eternal One planned to crush him all along, to bring him to grief, this innocent servant of God.When he puts his life in sin’s dark place, in the pit of wrongdoing,
this servant of God will see his children and have his days prolonged.
For in His servant’s hand, the Eternal’s deepest desire will come to pass and flourish.As a result of the trials and troubles that wrack his soul,
God’s servant will see light and be content
Because he knows, he really understands, what it’s about. As God says,“My just servant will justify countless others by taking on their punishment and bearing it away. Because he exposed his very self - laid bare his soul to the vicious grasping of death -
and was counted among the worst, I will count him among the best.I will allot this one, My servant, a share in all that is of any value,
because he took on himself the sin of many
and acted on behalf of those who broke My law.”[1]
Most rabbinic interpretations thought this was about the nation Israel (see references at 52:14; 53:2, 4, 10) as the suffering servant of God. But, Israel failed in their calling. Just like Jesus is referred to as the new and better Adam, Jesus is also the new and better Israel. Isaiah is writing about Jesus after all; the original audience just didn’t know it.
“Jesus had become a remnant of one. He was the embodiment of faithful Israel, the truly righteous and suffering servant.”[2]
This will be important for today’s passage as we read about Philip introducing someone to Jesus starting with Isaiah 53.
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”).
This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship,28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet.
Fun fact relating to biblical language: to Greeks and Romans, Ethiopia was at the ends of the earth. Homer said that Ethiopians lived “at the world’s end.” Herodotus claimed that Ethiopia “stretches farthest of the inhabited lands in the direction of the sun’s decline.” When Jesus sent his disciples to “the ends of the earth,” (Acts 1:8) they were probably thinking, “As far as Ethiopia????”[3] Yes, and further, of course :)
Second fact that is not so fun: This particular Ethiopian – who had been to Jerusalem to worship with the Jewish people - was actually an outcast in Judaism since, as a eunuch, he was in a constant state of ritual impurity (Leviticus 21:20; 22:24). Jewish law excluded eunuchs from public worship in the temple.[4]Josephus reflects a general attitude regarding eunuchs:
“Let those that have made themselves eunuchs be had in detestation; and avoid any conversation with them who have deprived themselves of…that fruit of generation which God has given to men for the increase of their kind; let such be driven away, as if they had killed their children, since they beforehand have lost what should procure them.”
The third fact – fun again - is that God directs Philip to southwest Palestine—the OT land of the Philistines. Gaza itself is one of the five cities of the Philistines.[5] More on this later.
“Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”[b]34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
It is likely that Philip started explaining how Jesus is the new and better Israel, the truly perfect Suffering Servant, the divine Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. After beginning with Isaiah 53, Philip probably went to some Scriptures called "Scriptures of the Servant of the Lord and the Righteous Sufferer" (i.e., Isaiah 42:1-44:5; 49:1-13; 50:4-11; and Psalms 22, 34, 69, 118).[6]
While a doctrine of a suffering Messiah was largely considered unthinkable (the Messiah would be triumphant; it was Israel that was the Righteous Sufferer), there was a small remnant in Judaism that had a concept of a suffering Messiah.[7]
The Babylonian Talmud[8] says: “The Messiah, what is his name? The Rabbis say, The Leper Scholar, as it is said, ‘surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of God and afflicted...’” (Sanhedrin 98b).
Midrash[9] Ruth Rabbah says: “Another explanation (of Ruth 2:14): He is speaking of king Messiah… eat of the bread,’ that is, the bread of the kingdom; ‘and dip thy morsel in the vinegar,’ this refers to his chastisements, as it is said, ‘But he was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities.’”[10]
36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [37] 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.[11] 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.[12]
Everybody had to be immersed in a mikveh, a ritual bath, before entering the temple. In the ancient mikva’ot (plural of mikveh) found in Jerusalem, there are a set of steps going down to the mikveh in an impure state on one side, and steps going up where the pilgrim will emerge fresh and ritually clean.[13]
Previously, a eunuch could not be baptized into Judaism and was not allowed to worship in the temple. However, it turns out that Isaiah has something important to say to the eunuchs as well:
“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant—to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.
And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to serve him, to love the name of the Lord, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant—these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” (Isaiah 56:3–8)
This guy has probably been ready to be baptized for a long time. Finally, the outsider was invited in, and he went on his way rejoicing.
* * * * *
Why does this matter to us today?
Philip goes three places as an evangelist after he is one of those scattered from Jerusalem due to persecution. In each of these places he meets people who represent more than just themselves. There are three types of people to whom Philip took the message of Jesus. We still have these types around us today.
To Samaritans (Jews who worshipped in a rival temple). Samaritans weren’t “outsiders”—they were failed insiders. And failed insiders are often harder to love than total outsiders. They were the group that “should have known better.” Maybe today, it’s our spiritual cousins inside the larger Christian world whom we believe have deeply intertwined their faith with non-Christian values and priorities – and they should have known better.
Christians who worship in alternative Christian sects, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses or the LDS church, where they claim additional revelation to the authority of the Bible and present a view of Jesus that is very different from orthodox Christianity.
I have heard the term “Chrislam” used to describe those who try to make Islam and Christianity compatible in spite of starkly differing views of Jesus.
When the values of the Empire start to become the values of the church, that probably counts, too. On the Right, this could be concern for Christians becoming “woke.” On the Left, it’s a concern over Christian Nationalism.
That’s my best analogies for today. In the best case scenario, a Samaritan could simply be the “wrong kind” of Christian – at least as we see it. In the worst case scenario, they have intertwined their faith with non-Christian values and priorities so much that their belief and practice place them somewhere outside of orthodox Christian history and tradition.
What should our response be? Philip did not abandon them. He went to them first. They were not enemies to push away or persecute or mock. They were God’s children, and they needed to hear the truth about who God really is as revealed in Jesus.
To a eunuch (who wasn’t allowed to worship in the temple.) He carried profound stigma, as he was perceived by pretty much everyone as sexually ambiguous and damaged. Eunuchs were generally an outcast everywhere except by those who castrated them. By cultural and societal standards, he was no longer “a real man.” (I didn’t repeat some of the really blistering things Josephus had to say.) He represents the category of people who had been told - explicitly or implicitly – that they no longer had value. “You are too damaged. God is not for people like you. You are not welcome to worship with us.”
Notice what Philip does. Philip does not distance or degrade him. He runs to him and sits with him and opens Scripture. It turns out this man was just waiting to be told about Jesus. A man who had been widely shunned and always been told he could not be a part of the family of God was now being told that he could be a part of the family of God. No wonder he responds with, “What could possibly stop me from being baptized?”
Societal outcasts are not enemies to push away or persecute or mock. They are God’s image bearers, and they needed to hear the truth about who God really is as revealed in Jesus, and invited to become an insider.
To Philistines (who worshipped false gods in rival temples). They are the archetypal enemies in Israel’s memory—Goliath’s people, oppressors, idolaters. God’s people simply did not go to Philistia. These are not the “compromised insiders.” They’re not “unvalued outsiders.” These are the people followers of Jesus experience as actively hostile to our faith. Today, this could include:
People who are aggressively anti-Christian (mockery, discrimination, persecution)
People whose culture norms or beliefs directly and publicly challenge Christian faith and practice
What would Philip do? Would he panic, or match hate with hate? No. He went to Philistia, right into their cities. He actually runs into Philistia. He didn’t avoid or dismiss them; he took Jesus to them.
Unlike Jonah, who really hated that God wanted to spare Ninevah, Philip seems really excited about letting enemies and outcasts know that God wants them to be part of His family. He’s not afraid of them or disgusted by them; he’s on mission. He is going to the highways and byways and compelling them to come in.
They are not enemies to push away or persecute or mock. They are God’s image bearers, and they need to hear the truth about how God as revealed in Jesus loves them and invites them, like Paul, to repentance and restoration.
* * * * *
Just to recap:
for the Samaritans, Philip went to them and told them about Jesus. There was great rejoicing.
for the eunuch, Philip went to him and told him about Jesus, and there was great rejoicing.
as for the Philistines, it doesn’t say, but he told them about Jesus, and I’m pretty sure rejoicing continued
I think Philip reminds us that the whole world is loved by Jesus, not just some people here and there. It’s too easy to create silos filled with “those” that we just can’t imagine interacting with or befriending or caring for. It’s too easy to give harsh nicknames and tell cruel jokes and post memes that paint “them” in the worst possible light.
It’s too easy to be like Jonah, resentful that God cares about them too, and extra resentful that we might be the one with boots on the ground in places that are really uncomfortable and that seem impossible.
What if we were more like Philip, following the prompting of the Holy Spirit to keep moving closer to everyone?
The church must be filled with those reaching out to the Samaritans, the eunuchs, the Philistines. That’s a crucial part of our mission field. If we want to follow in the footsteps of Jesus (and Philip), we will move closer so that the good news of Jesus may bring great rejoicing.
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[1] “‘It is written: “And he was numbered with the transgressors”; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.’” —Jesus, in Luke 22:37
[2] Tremper Longman III and Raymond B. Dillard, “Isaiah,” An Introduction to the Old Testament,
[3] Also, Isaiah uses this phrase (Isaiah 45:22: "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!”), and it would fit well if Isaiah is going to be the starting point of discussion.
[4] “If a man’s testicles are crushed or his penis is cut off, he may not be included in the assembly of the Lord” (Deut. 23:1).
[5] All three points are taken from information from the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary of the New Testament.
[6] Expositor's Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): New Testament
[7] Expositor's Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition): New Testament
[8] The Talmud is foundational to Rabbinic Judaism as a primary source of Jewish law and theology. It The Babylonian Talmud was written before the time of Jesus.
[9] A teaching within the Mishnah, a sort of commentary on the written law. It was written down starting in AD 200.
[10]“ Is the “The Suffering Servant” prophecy in Isaiah 53 about Jesus?” gotquestions.org
[11] “When Philip had baptized the eunuch, the Spirit of God showed him that it was not the will of God that he should accompany the eunuch to Meroe, but, on the contrary, that he should hasten away to Ashdod; as God had in that, and the neighboring places, work sufficient to employ him in.” (Adam Clarke)
[12] As Philip preached in all the cities of Palestine till he came to Caesarea, he must have preached in the different cities of the Philistine country, Ashdod, Akkaron, and Jamnia, and also in the principal parts of Samaria, as these lay in his way from Gaza to Caesarea. (Adam Clarke)
[13] “THE JEWISH ROOTS OF BAPTISM.” Oneforisrael.org